The performance of radiation-emitting semiconductor chips such as, for example, LEDs or radiation-receiving semiconductor chips such as, for example, sensors or detectors, is influenced inter alia by the use of a substrate on which the semiconductor layers of the semiconductor chip are grown. Compared with the semiconductor layers of the semiconductor chip, the substrate generally exhibits significant differences with regard to coefficient of expansion and/or lattice parameters in particular. This may cause lattice dislocations and point defects to arise, which result in non-emitting or non-receiving recombination centers, so disadvantageously affecting the internal and external quantum efficiency of the semiconductor chip. In addition, leakage current paths may arise in the semiconductor chip.
To improve light outcoupling out of the semiconductor chip or light coupling into it, it is known to keep the angle of the incident radiation at the boundary surface between semiconductor chip and surrounding environment smaller than the critical angle of the total reflection. To this end, the surface of the semiconductor chip is treated using a wet chemical etching process, for example, using KOH (potassium hydroxide), whereby specific three-dimensional structures may be formed on the surface, which however do not lead to maximum, angle-independent radiation emission due to the selective chemical reaction.
To optimize radiation emission of the semiconductor chip, surface structures which exhibit a specific shape and size are advantageous. With the conventional production method used to produce surface structures such as, for example, KOH treatment of the surface, limits are set to the shape and size of the surface structures, however.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a semiconductor chip which exhibits reduced lattice dislocations and/or point defects, so resulting advantageously in improved semiconductor chip efficiency and to provide an improved production method for such a semiconductor chip.